Paul Capraro appointed as Pomona police chief

POMONA >> Building and bolstering relationships, addressing crime and solving homicides will be part of the mission of Pomona Police Chief Paul Capraro’s mission, he and others said Tuesday.

City Council members appointed Capraro as chief Monday night.

As assistant chief, Capraro had been serving as interim chief for more than a week following the departure of Dave Keetle, who retired as chief on Feb. 21.

Mayor Elliott Rothman announced at Monday’s meeting that the City Council accepted City Manager Linda Lowry’s recommendation to appoint Capraro as chief.

The announcement drew applause from those attending the meeting.

“I promise to do my best to serve the community,” Capraro said.

Capraro, 50, is a native of Old Bridge, N.J., who came with his family to the Inland Valley as a 7-year-old.

He attended local schools and went on to UCLA where he earned a degree in sociology.

He was hired by the Pomona Police Department in 1988 and has moved up the ranks.

Capraro said that although the city’s financial picture is improving, it’s not out of the woods yet.

“The issue of the financial responsibility is on the minds of everyone in Pomona,” he said.

Working with Keetle has given him the background to continue addressing those matters, he said.

A significant part of the work ahead will be working with the residents. It will require letting the Police Department engage the community, he said.

Capraro has been involved in efforts to work with residents including having officers go into neighborhoods that have experienced violent crime and letting residents know they are interested in what happens to them and are available to assist them.

Advertisement

He’s also been involved in the Coffee With a Cop in which officers will visit a fast food restaurant and make themselves available to talk with residents and business people and answer their questions.

Capraro said he will be out working with the public but he won’t be alone. Other members of the department will be involved.

“We have to have meaningful engagement of the department,” he said. “There has to be life in the relationship.”

The department will have to work to reach out to people across the city.

“The community is everyone,” Capraro said, adding it’s not just those who support or are critical of the department.

“It’s everybody that lives, works and plays here,” he said.

“I want everyone to feel comfortable talking to a police officer, a lieutenant, a captain or to me” Capraro said. “First and foremost we have to be approachable.”

Members of the department said Capraro is someone who is approachable and open to suggestions.

Jamie Gutierrez, president of the Pomona Police Officers’ Association, said Capraro is someone who “has always been up front,” adding he is honest and straightforward.

Joann Guzek, president of the Pomona Police Managers Association, said Capraro has already started working on building relationships with members of the public and with other law enforcement agencies, she said.

“He always been a big advocate of looking to outside sources” when the department has needed assistance, she said.

Councilwoman Cristina Carrizosa said Capraro “is a man who has earned the goodwill of the majority of people.”

Carrizosa organized a gathering attended by members of the community and activists. Capraro attended and “he listened to them and they listened to each other,” Carrizosa said.

Rothman said solving the city’s homicides “that’s where he’s really got to step it up.”

By building new relationships and bolstering existing ones, the department will be able address that area, Rothman said.

“Cops can’t be everywhere all the time,” he said. “We need to have the Police Department interface with the community.”

Through those connections “people can report crimes and not be afraid,” Rothman said.

Appointing Capraro “is a good move and he’s the right person for the job,” Rothman said.